The continuing influx of Chinese car brands into Australia – and their growing popularity – has been built on affordable vehicles, generous equipment levels and a strong focus on electrification that has coincided with spikes in the global price of fuel.

But name recognition and brand loyalty remain strong factors in the purchase decisions of Australians, one reason Toyota remains top of the new car sales charts. Establishing both of those qualities is much harder for the newcomers, though their marketing activity is a clear indication of their ambitions to embed their brands into Australia for many years to come.

No where is that clearer than the growing number of sponsorship agreements Chinese brands are signing with football clubs across the AFL, NRL and A-League, a recognition by the upstart brands of the significance and tribalism of sport to Australians.

GWM is the latest example, having just announced a partnership with the Parramatta Eels for the 2027 season (below), which will see it become the club’s official automotive partner and feature on the sleeves of its NRL and NRLW jerseys.

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GWM Australia Chief Operating Officer John Kett said the partnership was founded on a belief that success is built together, with both organisations committed to growing the partnership for the long term.

“On the surface, GWM and the Parramatta Eels have very different histories, but at our core we share many of the same values,” said Kett.” Both organisations value hard work, earning the trust of the people who back them and building long-term success.”

“For Parramatta, the goal is premiership number five. For GWM, our immediate goal is to become Australia’s number five automotive brand. Different scoreboards, but the same ambition to keep climbing.”

GWM may have been on of the first Chinese car brands to land in Australia but it is hardly the first to claim space on the jersey of Australian football club, MG was among the first, forging major sponsor partnerships with Port Adelaide in the AFL and the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL, while Chery sponsors St Kilda, Geely has partnered with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and JAC Motors is aligned with the St George Illawarra Dragons.

Even relative newcomer GAC has joined the action, sponsoring both Sydney FC and Melbourne City FC in the A-League, while BYD appears on the jersey front of the 2026 premiership-winning Sydney Roosters, whose chairman Nick Politis bought one of the brand’s rare Yangwang U9 hypercars back in April

It’s an obvious and quickfire to expose your previously unknown brand to Australians. Every week, millions of us tune in to watch football of some description, and by aligning themselves with our favourite sporting teams, Chinese brands can build a stronger connection with local buyers.

Nine estimates it NRL coverage across the 2026 NRL season reached 15.6 million viewers, or a National Total TV Average Audience of 745,000 viewers per match – up 1.3 per cent year-on-year.

The AFL claims 370 million people watched its 2026 AFL home and away season (sponsored by Toyota), across Kayo SPORTS, Foxtel, Seven and 7plus.

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According to car finance comparison website Savvy, GWM’s football sponsorships have put its branding in front of a combined 1.54 million match attendees, while MG’s partnerships reportedly generated exposure to approximately 1.3 million spectators.

It’s certainly not a new strategy, as car manufacturers sponsoring sporting teams is a tale as old as time, with brands such as Toyota, Mazda and Hyundai having done so for decades. The Roosters, for example, were for many years the City Ford Roosters, again spruiking Politis’ original dealership and establishing his long-time connection with the club.

What’s different, however, is just how quickly Chinese makers have moved to align themselves with Australian sporting clubs in an attempt to become household names.

Whether football sponsorships directly translate into additional car sales isn’t easy to measure, but Chinese brands clearly recognise the importance of familiarity when competing against established marques.